


Years of Dreams Just Can't be Wrong

by bisexualnikiforov



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Anastasia, Amnesia!Yuuri, Anastasia!Yuuri, Friends to Lovers, Gen, M/M, Slow Burn, The Only Villain is Self Doubt, Victor as Dimitri, Yurio as Vlad, jj leroy as rasputin bc i'm awful, just let me live
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-01
Updated: 2017-01-28
Packaged: 2018-09-03 16:12:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 17,327
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8720311
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bisexualnikiforov/pseuds/bisexualnikiforov
Summary: buddy it's the yuri!!! on ice anastasia au that no one asked for but i'm writing anyway





	1. Chapter 1

Yuuri Katsuki watched, ever so entranced, as the guests danced to the music that reverberated throughout the ballroom. He had always adored parties and dancing, even if his shy nature often left him watching from the corner of the room rather than participating. He knew he should be mingling with the other guests tonight of all nights. It was, after all, a night celebrating the induction of the new students under the Bolshoi Ballet Company as well as the send-off for those who were retiring.

“Are you one of the dancers?” a silver haired boy who looked just a few years older than him asked, startling Yuuri and pulling him from his thoughts.

Yuuri nodded. At age twelve, he was the youngest student to be taken in under Lilia Baranovskaya. “Are you?” he asked in hesitant Russian, still struggling to learn the language he would now be surrounded by.

The boy gave him a guilty look. “Afraid not. I just work here at the dance hall. I’m not completely graceless though,” he insisted. “I like to ice skate at the rink not too far from here.” He glanced around quickly. “If Mr. Feltsman catches me out here, he’ll have a fit. I should really get back to work.” The boy didn’t appear to be going anywhere. “I just wanted to see everyone dancing.”

“It’s pretty to watch,” Yuuri agreed.

The boy sighed. “I wish I could dance like that.”

“I could show you how someday when I’m as good as them,” Yuuri decided. “We could dance together.”

The boy’s face lit up. “Really?” He hugged Yuuri, picking him up off the ground ever so slightly. “You’re the best! Maybe sometimes when you’re not so busy with practice, you could come ice skating with me.”

 

“I don’t know how,” Yuuri admitted.

 

“I could teach you. Oh, it’ll be be so much fun!”

“Yuuri, I’ve been looking everywhere for you!” called the voice of his mentor and idol Minako Okukawa. “Oh, I see you’ve made a friend. What’s your name?”

The silver haired boy quickly let go of Yuuri and put some space between them. He struggled to keep the panic off his face as he bowed to Minako. “I’m Victor. It’s nice to meet you, Ms. Okukawa,” he told her in rough English.

“It’s nice to meet you, too, Victor,” Minako told him with a gentle smile. “Any friend of Yuuri’s is a friend of mine. But I am afraid I must borrow him for a moment for a private conversation. It’ll be quick and then the two of you can go back to having fun.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Victor said before running off.

“What a cute kid,” Minako mumbled to herself. “Yuuri, I wanted to let you know that I’m so proud of you. I couldn’t have asked for a better student to follow in my footsteps. I’m going to miss you so much when I go back to Japan next week.”

“Then stay here with me instead,” Yuuri told her. He felt his face grow hot and his eyes sting with the threat of tears. It had been hard enough leaving his family behind for the sake of ballet. Losing his only connection to his old life, his only connection to Japan, was terrifying. In this moment, it didn’t matter if he was Japan’s greatest ballet prodigy. He was still just a kid about to be left behind in a foreign country.

Minako kneeled down to be at eye level with Yuuri. “Oh, Yuuri, we both know I’m much too old to keep dancing here. It’s time for me to retire from the international stage and go home. But you know, I do have a present for you before I go.” She glanced around quickly. “Promise not to tell any of the other dancers?”

Yuuri nodded vigorously. “I promise.”

Minako reached into her pocket and pulled out a small jewelry box. “Go on, open it,” she said as Yuuri stared wide-eyed at the box.

Slowly, as if wanting to savor the surprise as long as possible, Yuuri opened the box. Inside was a shining silver locket hanging from a delicate chain. “Do you want me to help you put it on?” Minako asked.

“But I thought it was a secret.”

“The real secret isn’t the locket. It’s the inscription on the back.”

Yuuri flipped over the locket to see the phrase “together in Hasetsu” engraved on the back. “Do you mean it?” Yuuri’s voice was hardly above a whisper.

“Of course I do,” Minako told him as she put the necklace around Yuuri’s neck and closed the clasp. “I’m going to open a ballet studio in Hasetsu, so you better come and visit me whenever you’re home.”

“I will I will I will!” Yuuri was utterly overwhelmed with joy, so much so that tears began to spill from his eyes. His mentor from the Bolshoi Ballet would be settling down in his hometown. It would be just like she was part of the family.

“There’s one more surprise.” Minako removed the cushion from the inside of the jewelry to reveal a key. “You’ll be able to come to my studio in Hasetsu and dance whenever you want with this,” she explained as she placed the key in Yuuri’s hand.

Yuuri was at a loss for words. He stared at the key as if it were the greatest treasure he had ever seen. This plain key was worth far more to him than the glittering locket now around his neck. It ensured that the promise on the locket was indeed his future.

 

“I’ve kept you from your friend long enough now,” Minako told him. “He’s sure to be missing you, wherever he ran off to.”

 

Yuuri blushed. “Don’t be silly. We only just met, and I’ve just been gone a few minutes.” Still, Yuuri glanced around the ballroom, hoping for a sign of Victor.

 

He was gone. Victor must have gone back to working. Yuuri hoped that perhaps Victor would sneak out again so he could talk to him more. Until then, Yuuri was content to be a wallflower watching the others dance and enjoy the party.

 

Blinding light and a deafening crack of thunder snapped Yuuri from his thoughts. Then, everything went dark. So startled from the speed at which everything was happening, Yuuri almost didn’t notice the terrified screams coming from the others. It was the smell of smoke assaulting his airway and the tug on his sleeve that finally forced him to react.

 

He ran behind the figure that had grabbed him, barely recognizing it as Minako in the dim light cast by the flames that crept behind them. “We need to get out of here, Yuuri. Now!” she shouted.

 

A beam fell from the ceiling and blocked the main exit, missing Yuuri and Minako by barely more than a foot. Yuri froze, panicked. He knew of no other way out of the burning building.

 

“Follow me!” someone shouted. “There’s another exit through the kitchen!”

 

Yuuri and Minako followed the voice, unable to see its owner through the thickening smoke. Yuuri pulled the front of his shirt over his nose and mouth to breathe a little easier. He was already beginning to feel dizzy.

 

“Come on, through here!” the voice urged them.

 

Yuuri heard hinges creak, and then the sound of heavy rainfall. The cold, fresh air of howling storm winds burst through the now open door. Minako pulled Yuuri outside by the arm and kept running. “We’ve got to get somewhere safe before the fire spreads,” Minako explained.

 

But Yuuri was still dizzy from inhaling so much smoke during their escape from the burning hall. He was burning hot despite the frigid rain pouring on him, and Minako’s voice sounded as if it were getting further away.

 

“Just a little bit further now,” Minako insisted as she kept pulling Yuuri behind her. “I promise we’ll be somewhere safe soon, Yuuri.”

 

A car horn screeched before everything around Yuuri went dark.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuuri Katsuki has no memory of who he used to be, but he wants to find out.
> 
> Yuri Plisestky and Victor Nikiforov hear of the reward Minako Okukawa is offering for whoever finds Yuuri or has proof of what happened to him, and decide to plot the biggest scam of their lives.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Until Yuuri gets his memories back, his name will be spelled Yuri and he has no last name. To avoid confusion, Yuri Plisestky will either be referred to by his full name or Yura.

“I got you a job at the local inn, nothing fancy,” Mr. Celestino explained as he all but dragged Yuri out of the orphanage and away from the younger kids there, his only friends. “The hoops I had to go through, too, just because you don’t have a proper identity.”

 

“I appreciate your efforts,” Yuri replied, bowing his head slightly.

 

“You’ve got to stop taking yourself so seriously, kid,” Mr. Celestino sighed. “You know I do my best for all the kids that come through here, even letting them stay a little while after eighteen so they can finish schooling. I wish I could let you stay longer, but you know how tight money is with these orphanage programs. Still, it feels wrong just letting you out into the world when you still haven’t got a clue about who you used to be.”

 

“No, no. I want to thank you,” Yuri insisted. “You’ve already done so much for me, more than enough really.”

 

Mr. Celestino patted Yuri on the back. “Good luck out there, kid.”

 

Yuri thanked Mr. Celestino once more before heading down the road. He felt conflicted. Yuri had never been great with change, or at least he hadn’t been ever since he could remember. He was anxious about having to start a new life, and he was afraid of letting Mr. Celestino down after everything. Most of all, he was terrified of walking away from the chance of ever knowing his past. Perhaps the Yuri he was before age 12, if he had even truly been called Yuri then, had been braver, maybe even brave enough to follow what few clues he had to who he once was.

 

Yuri fiddled with the locket dangling from his neck absentmindedly as he traveled forward to his new life, repeating the inscription “together in Hasetsu” over and over again like the holiest of prayers. All he knew about Hasetsu was that it was some small town in Japan. Yuri didn’t even know Japanese. It seemed impossible that anyone could be waiting for him there.

 

“Someone must have loved me enough to give me this necklace,” he muttered to himself. “Ugh, but what if they got tired of waiting and left! It’s been over a decade. They might have thought I was never coming back and given up on me.” Yuri balled his hands into fists with frustration. “I could really use a sign right now, something to guide me in the right direction.”

 

Yuri was suddenly startled by something nudging at his leg. He jumped, falling into a pile of snow that had been shoveled off the road. His pursuer, which looked something like a small bear through Yuri’s snow-smudged glasses, was content to pant next to him, tongue falling out of its mouth.

 

After composing himself and wiping off his glasses, Yuri could see that the animal was a brown poodle. It looked taken care of; its coat was healthy and detangled and it didn’t seem to be underweight. Yuri inched closer to the animal and found a collar with the tag “Makkachin” on it.

 

“Makkachin, your owner must be worried sick about you,” Yuri chided as he got up and brushed snow off his clothes. “Even a dog with such a thick coat like you shouldn’t be outside too long this close to winter.”

 

Makkachin ran forward in the direction of St. Petersburg, opposite of where Yuri needed to be going, only to stop after realizing Yuri wasn’t following.

 

“Oh great, a dog is trying to lead me to St. Petersburg,” Yuri muttered to himself. “As if I didn’t have enough going on right now.” Yuri froze at his revelation. “A dog is leading me to St. Petersburg! You must be the sign I was asking for, Makkachin!” Nervously he added, “Do you by any chance know what awaits in St. Petersburg? No, of course you don’t. You’re just looking for a way home.” Yuri didn’t bother telling Makkachin that he was looking for the same thing.

 

Despite his feet moving forward to follow Makkachin to St. Petersburg, Yuri’s heart pounded. He was leaving everything behind everything he knew. Still, he refused to turn back now that he had made his choice. This could be his only chance to learn to who he was, his only chance to reclaim that future. Perhaps there was even a family waiting for him. Now that his mind had been made up, he wouldn’t be able to feel complete until he got his answers. Yet Yuri wished that everyone who had told him that life was full of choices had also mentioned the feeling of fear that came along with making them. This would surely be the most nerve-wracking journey of his life.

 

**

 

“Have you heard what they’re saying on the streets?” Yuri Plisetsky asked, a cheshire grin spreading across his face.

 

Victor Nikiforov put down his newspaper and looked at his young partner-in-crime, a homeless pickpocket he’d met a few years ago while he was still doing smaller scale cons and forgeries. “Can’t say I have, considering how busy I’ve been what with forging all these travel papers by myself,” Victor replied.

 

“There’s been whispers of a rumor that some old prima ballerina from Japan is putting up a huge reward to find some missing kid from the Bolshoi fire back eleven years ago. She got hit by a truck trying to get away from the flames and was in a coma, didn’t even know the kid never made it back to the ballet until weeks had passed. But eleven years without a word from the kid? My guess is that if the kid didn’t die in the fire, he died on the streets.”

 

“I survived that fire, Yura,” Victor reminded him.

 

“Yeah, and you still lament that some of your hair got burnt,” Yura spat back.

 

Victor ignored the comment. “Still, it’s a rumor, nothing more than a silly mystery.”

 

“I looked it up and it’s all over Japanese news, Victor. I wouldn’t tell you about this if I didn’t have proof.”

 

Victor felt a smile tug at the corners of his mouth. “Did you get a name for the kid? A description of what he looked like?”

 

“Yuuri Katsuki,” Yuri told him. “And I can do you one better than a description.” He pulled a newspaper clipping from his pocket. “Here’s a photo of him and the ballerina looking for him from the night of the fire.”

 

Victor snatched the picture from Yuri’s hand. He recognized the woman immediately as Minako Okukawa, once one of the greatest dancers in the world. He also vaguely recognized the boy. Victor was fairly sure he had spoken to him that night. Inspiration struck him as he continued to inspect the photo. Surely, this would be his greatest idea yet.

 

“It’ll be hard to find an Asian actor with a convincing enough resemblance on such short notice, Yura,” Victor tutted. “But if we manage it, then my goodness we will be set for life.”

 

Victor paused to think through the logistics, and then gave up to google search the kid. After scrolling through various links surrounding the Bolshoi fire, he found what he was searching for: a write-up about the kid being taken in by the Bolshoi Ballet. “Born in Hasetsu, Japan on 29 November 1992, Katsuki is the youngest ballerina to be taken in by Lilia Baranovskaya in almost a decade,” he read aloud. “So he’d just be turning 23 now.” He continued to skim the article. “Pretty normal guy according to this. Parents own an inn with a hot spring. Older sister. Likes dogs and ballet. Nothing too tricky to make our actor memorize.”

 

“You really think we can pull this off?” Yura asked, clinging to Victor’s every word. “This would be one of the greatest cons in Russian and Japanese history if we can manage it.”

 

Victor wrapped his arm around Yura’s shoulders, pulling him closer. “I can see it now! Two kind young men reunite Japan’s missing child star with his family and mentor! We’ll be heroes just long enough for us to disappear with the reward.”

 

“We’ll never have to come back to St. Petersburg!” Yura added.

 

“I’ll get to work on the travel papers immediately. I need you to start looking for someone who could pass for this kid at age 23. Yura, the three of us are finally going to be living the good life!”

 

“The three of us?”

 

“You, me, and Makkachin of course.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. i still don't own this shit  
> 2\. i'll write a chapter of substantial length once i'm feeling better and finals are less crazy


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> look buddy it's an anastasia au so you're about at the "once upon a december" scene you feel me?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. i don't own yoi or anastasia i don't even own my human soul  
> 2\. episode 10 changed me as a person

“I swear, every single East Asian man currently living in Russia must have auditioned today,” Yura complained as he and Victor waited for the next actor to come onto the stage.

 

“It will be worth it when we find the right one for the part,” Victor insisted, more for his own sake. “What’s the name of the next actor?”

 

“Christophe Giacometti.”

 

As soon as the name left Yura’s mouth, a blonde man with stunning green eyes took the stage. He didn’t remotely look like the photograph they had of Yuuri Katsuki, and Victor wondered why this man would even audition.

 

“What the hell?” Yura muttered under his breath.

 

The man dropped his thick jacket to the floor to reveal a skin-tight ballet costume that left nothing to the imagination, sending a seductive wink Victor and Yura’s way as he did so. “Minako, it’s me, Yuuri,” he purred.

 

“I’m so uncomfortable right now,” Yura whispered to no one in particular.

 

Victor, trying to recover from his state of shock, shouted, “Thank you very much for your audition. Next!”

 

“I also know classical ballet!” Christophe called out to them as he left the room. “In case you need someone to help you train your Katsuki actor.”

 

Victor rubbed his temples. This was, without a doubt, going to be the longest day of his life.

 

***

 

Yuri followed the dog Makkachin through the gray streets of St. Petersburg, wondering exactly where Makkachin would lead him. So far, nothing around him felt familiar. He supposed he wouldn’t magically remember all at once, they way movies always portrayed it. If spending almost every night for over a decade trying to force one’s self to remember the past didn’t work, one short walk around the city wouldn’t either.

 

Yet Yuri still felt frustrated by his lack of a breakthrough. He couldn’t shake the feeling that what he wanted to remember was close, faded almost memories intertwined with wishful daydreams. He wanted to stretch his arms out toward the past and grab ahold of the fleeting edges of the vague sensations of something that only might have happened. More than that, he wanted whatever it was that felt on the verge of being remembered to be real.

 

Makkachin’s pace picked up suddenly, pulling Yuri out of his daydreaming. He chased Makkachin, trying to keep up with the dog without running into anyone.

 

“Watch out!” Yuri shouted as Makkachin bounded toward a tall, pale man.

 

Neither the man nor the dog seemed ready for the collision that knocked both of them to the ground. While Makkachin barked and wagged his tail, the man coughed hard and then inhaled sharply, trying to recover from the shock.

 

“I am so, so sorry,” Yuri told the man. “Here, let me help you up.” He extended a hand to the man.

 

The man took Yuri’s hand, only to pull him to the ground as well. “Now we’re even,” the man chuckled. “Is this your dog? He’s so pretty, looks just like my Makkachin.”

 

Yuri shook his head. “No, he’s not my dog. I found him when I was walking earlier.” Yuri paused, realization hitting him. “Did you say your dog was called Makkachin? That’s the name on this dog’s tags.”

 

The man shot Yuri a quizzical look before turning to check the dog’s tags. “Oh, Makkachin, you always manage to sneak out at the worst times. Were you getting into trouble this morning?” he asked as he wrapped his arms tight around the dog. “I hope you weren’t inconveniencing this nice young man.”

 

“No, no it was fine,” Yuri insisted.

 

The man stood up and offered his hand out to Yuri. “I’m Victor, by the way,” he said, making painfully intense and intimate eye contact. “Your name?”

 

“Yuri,” Yuri replied.

 

Victor raised an eyebrow at that. “Got a last name to go along with that?”

 

Yuri blushed and averted his eyes. “I don’t know my last name,” he admitted.

 

Victor nodded, as if understanding. “I’ve known my fair share of people who didn’t know last name, or at least not their paternal last names. It’s nothing to be embarrassed about.”

 

Yuri’s blush deepened. “It’s not like that. At least, I don’t think it’s like that. I was in some kind of accident as a kid, and I don’t remember much of anything about who I was before that.”

 

“I’m sorry to hear that.” Victor started circling Yuri, inspecting him with a hawkish gaze. “You know, you look awfully familiar, like someone I knew when I was younger.”

 

“Oh?”

 

“I know! Why don’t we take a stroll and maybe get some coffee? Figure out if we remember each other? At the very least, I owe you for bringing Makkachin back to me.”

 

Yuri hesitated. Still, Makkachin had been the sign to go to St. Petersburg. Perhaps this odd, overly friendly man was part of the plan. Besides, Victor claimed he looked familiar. He might have some knowledge of Yuri’s past. Maybe if Yuri spent some time around him, Victor would start to look familiar as well. This could be the key to who he was. “I guess that would be okay.”

 

Victor threw his arm around Yuri. “Terrific. I know this great place that makes the absolute best cappuccinos. You’re going to love it.” He took out his phone and quickly typed something out. “I just need to let my friend know I’m going to be back a little later than I originally planned.”

 

“I don’t want to keep you if you have other things you need to be doing,” Yuri said quietly.

 

“Nonsense,” Victor told him. “There’s no other place I’d rather be right now.”

 

Yuri nodded, uncomfortable with having a near-stranger’s arm around him but too nervous to push him away. He kept telling himself that his nerves were an overreaction, and he rationalized that of course Victor would be so touchy if he thought they might know each other.

 

“So who was it exactly that I reminded you of?” Yuri asked, trying not to stutter over his words.

 

“His name was Yuuri Katsuki, a ballerina for the Bolshoi Ballet,” Victor replied.

 

Something about the name of that ballet company sparked a strange surge of familiarity in Yuri, as though it might have some meaning. This only served to confuse Yuri. He was overweight, clumsy, and wore thick glasses. There was no way Victor could be mistaking him for a professional dancer. Surely, Victor was mocking him. He froze in place, trying not to let his emotions get the best of him and accidentally cry in front of Victor. Yuri hated how easily his emotions got the best of him like this.

 

“Why have we stopped walking? Is everything okay?” Victor asked, a tone of genuine worry coloring his voice.

 

“If you wanted me to walk with you, you could have just said,” Yuri said through gritted teeth. “You didn’t have to make up some stupid lie about me looking like your ballerina friend.” I know what I look like, he wanted to add.

 

“What are you talking about?” Victor paused, drawing a finger to his mouth in contemplation. “Oh, is this because you’re not exactly in shape for a ballerina? Well, no one’s seen Katsuki in over a decade, so it’d make sense that if you were him, you haven’t been dancing all this time and wouldn’t exactly be in top shape.”

 

This did not make Yuri feel any better. “I don’t even know why I’m still talking to you. You’ve clearly got the wrong person. I’m not your ballerina.” A vaguely disgruntled noise escaped his throat. “This is a waste of time.” He was looking in the wrong direction. Maybe he should give up and go in the direction of the job Celestino had gotten for him.

 

Yuri turned to walk in the opposite direction of Victor, only to feel the loose grip of Victor’s fingers around his wrist. “Please, I didn’t mean to upset you,” Victor insisted. “You really do look like him, you know. And I’ve been trying to find him for a while now. You see, his family back in Japan is worried about him. They haven’t seen or heard from him in nearly eleven years now.”

 

“Eleven years?” Yuri repeated. He tried not to think too much on how it had also been eleven years since he knew he used to be. It surely must be a coincidence. He was too afraid to let himself believe that this story might belong to him.

 

“He was in the Bolshoi fire, but he supposedly got out. Only twelve years old and lost in a foreign country, it’s quite tragic.” Victor sighed, almost a bit too dramatically. “I’m sorry if I came on too strong before. I just really want to believe you’re him. I’ve even reserved a ticket for him to Hasetsu in Japan to reunite him with his family.”

 

“Hasetsu?” Yuri asked, hands reaching for his locket. “It’s strange, that place is the only key I have to remembering who I was. I’ve been wanting to go to Hasetsu for some time now.”

 

Victor grinned. “You don’t say? Well, I’d gladly give you that extra ticket free of charge if you were Yuuri Katsuki.”

 

Yuri thought it over for a moment. “Well, if no one’s heard from him in eleven years and my memories only go back to eleven years ago, then who is to say he isn’t me or whatever? And if I’m not, then surely the Katsukis will know and it’s all just been a big misunderstanding and I can pay you back for the ticket.”

 

“And if you are Yuuri Katsuki, then you’ve found your past. Either way, it gets you to Hasetsu.”

 

Yuri beamed, feeling absolutely elated. “You know, you’re right.”

 

“So you’ll go to Japan with me?” Victor pressed.

 

“I guess so.”

 

“This is positively wonderful news.” Victor hugged Yuri, lifting him several inches off the ground in the process. “I’ve got to tell my friend. He’ll be going with us, too, since he’s practically family to me.” Victor pulled out his phone again and sent another quick text. “I sent him a message to have him meet us at the coffee place.” Victor looked around. “Oh, we’re here. Come on, let’s go inside.” Victor grabbed Yuri by the wrist and pulled him into the coffee shop.

 

“Oh okay,” Yuri managed to say, still unused to how touchy this Victor guy was.

 

Victor ordered coffee while Yuri tried to process everything that had happened so far. This morning, he was an orphaned nobody with no real future. Now, he might be a former ballerina on his way to see his long lost family all because a dog brought him to a man who might have known him in the past. It seemed almost too perfect, and it was all certainly happening faster than he had expected.

 

“Oi, Victor!” shouted a short blonde young man, snapping Yuri out of his train of thought.

 

“Yura!” Victor replied. “Can you believe my luck, running into Yuuri Katsuki like this today?” Victor turned to Yuri. “Yuuri, this is Yuri Plisetsky, the friend I was telling you about. Oh, but this might be confusing to have two people called Yuri, so you can call him Yura if you prefer.”

 

“Nice to meet you,” Yuri replied, extending his hand to Yuri Plisetsky.

 

“You’re supposed to be Yuuri Katsuki?” Yura questioned, circling Yuri faster than Yuri’s eyes could keep up with. “As in the ballerina?” 

 

“Uh, I guess so? At least, Victor seems to think so.”

 

Victor nodded enthusiastically. “Yes, I’m almost entirely positive. Of course, we can’t know for sure until he gets his memories back.”

 

“And you think you can figure out how to do that?” Yura prodded. “You can barely remember your own birthday.”

 

“Certainly I can,” Victor assured them both. “We just need to remind of the right things, and it’ll all come back to him.”

 

“2 cappuccinos for Victor!” the barista called.

 

Victor picked up his cappuccino and Yuri’s from the counter and handed one to Yuri. “Come on, why don’t we build some trust in our relationship?” he all but purred. “I want to know every little thing about you so I can better understand the current situation.”

 

Yuri’s face felt hot with embarrassment. “Um, I don’t think that’s completely necessary.”

 

“Yeah, it’s not necessary, Victor,” Yura agreed. “Stop making it weird and drink your coffee. We can get into the specifics of everything later.”

 

***

 

As the three continued chatting, another patron listened in, absorbing every bit of information he could. Jean-Jacques Leroy was on his way to becoming the greatest danseurs in all the world. If what these strangers were true, then there was a chance that this Yuuri Katsuki could get in the way of his dreams. JJ was not about to let that happen.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> these 3 idiots plus makkachin are taking a train to moscow, and a certain quebecois asshole is on the train with them

“There currently aren’t any direct flights going from St. Petersburg to any major city in Japan, so we’re taking a train to Moscow first,” Victor explained as the three young men and poodle boarded. “Then from Moscow, we fly to Fukuoka airport and then another train to get to Hasetsu.”

“Right,” Yuri replied with a nod, entirely sure that he would not remember all of that and would need to ask again several more times before he got it right. He still was unsure of how Yura and Victor had managed to get him the proper papers for international travel, but he thought it best not to know.

“We’ll be able to learn so much about each other with all this time,” Victor continued, leading the group to their seats and stowing away what little luggage they had. “We have eleven years to catch up on after all.”

“Or better yet,” Yura countered, “you could sit in absolute silence for once in your life. Goodness knows I won’t be able to stand a ten hour train ride with you blabbering on the whole time.”

“So mean,” Victor complained. “At least you’ll talk to me, right Yuri?”

“Uh, sure,” Yuri reluctantly agreed, not wanting to offend the person who was making his dream into a reality.

“Perfect! Tell me everything you remember about yourself. Have you always been good with dogs? Do you still like to dance? Do you have a lover?”

“I don’t see how that last question is necessary,” Yuri sputtered.

“Yeah, don’t make it weird, Victor,” Yura snarled.

“How am I making it weird?” Victor asked innocently. “I’m just trying to catch up with an old friend.”

“One who doesn’t even remember you!” Yura reminded him rather loudly. “You might as well be asking intimate questions to a stranger.”

“But he will remember me,” Victor insisted. “Won’t you, Yuri?”

“I don’t-” Yuri began.

“That doesn’t excuse you from being such a creep about it right now,” Yura huffed.

“No one said you had to be here while we catch up,” Victor told him.

“Fine, I’m leaving. I don’t care anyway.”

Yura stormed away, leaving Victor and Yuri alone in a heavy silence.

“So do you think you’ll miss it?” Yuri asked after a moment, trying to lighten the mood. He felt as though Yura’s outburst had more to it than what he had actually said, but Yuri wasn’t ready to ask Victor what the real reason was.

“What, Yura’s temper?” Victor teased.

“No, St. Petersburg. It was your home after all.”

Victor considered this. “No, it wasn’t really my home. It was just a place that I once lived.”

“Then do you plan on making Hasetsu your true home? Or wherever you and Yura plan to go after that?” Yuri pressed.

“I don’t know. What is it with you and homes anyway?”

“Well it’s not like I remember ever having one,” Yuri explained, cheeks flushing from embarrassment. “You know what, just forget I said anything.”

“Oh, but I’m curious now. Are you inviting me to be a part of your future home?” Victor teased.

Instead of dignifying him with an answer, Yuri left his seat and rushed off. Perhaps Yura was right. Victor was being far too personal with him, even if he did believe that they had known each other before. Yuri was consumed in his thoughts as he paced the corridors of the train, not noticing when he bumped into Yura.

“You alright?” Yura asked, eyes wary.

“Fine,” Yuri replied, knowing full well his lie didn’t sound convincing. “Victor was just being-”

“An ass?” Yura supplied. “He gets like that sometimes when he’s trying too hard to seem cool. You learn to tune it out. Just take a breather for now and come back when you’re ready.”

***

“It’s one thing to piss me off with your incredibly unprofessional pining, but your stupid attraction to our fake Yuuri is going to scare him off, asshole!” Yura hissed as soon as he entered the carriage.

“Don’t be ridiculous! It’s not an attraction, and I’m not pining,” Victor defended. “I’m just trying to be friendly.”

“You better not ruin this for us.” Yura sighed and sat down with a dull thud. “To be honest, I still don’t see the dancer in him that you see. Are you sure you didn’t just rush into everything and pick him because you’re infatuated?”

Victor shook his head. “No, that’s not it. I was sixteen when I met the real Yuuri Katsuki. It was so brief that I almost forgot about it, until I ran into our Yuuri. There’s something about him that reminds me of the one I met all those years ago.”

“That still sounds like an infatuation to me,” Yura argued.

“I certainly was intrigued back then, but I wouldn’t have called it an infatuation,” Victor admitted, a soft expression of pure nostalgia creeping onto his face for just a moment. “But this time, there’s nothing more to it than intuition and good business sense. If anyone in the world can successfully play the role of Yuuri Katsuki, then it’s our fake Yuuri.”

“I’m still not sure I trust your judgement on this.”

Victor smiled. “I’m not sure you have a choice at this point.”

***

“Come on, Isabella,” Jean-Jacques whispered as he and his fiancee snuck about the train in search of the alleged Yuuri Katsuki. “We have got to get to Katsuki before those two Russian guys come looking for him.”

“And what exactly are we going to do once we find him, JJ?” Isabella asked hesitantly as she followed Jean-Jacques.

“For now, I just want to see if he’s the real deal,” Jean-Jacques explained. “If he isn’t, then there’s no problem. If he is, I’m going to dissuade him from returning to ballet.”

“But JJ, you’re so talented. You don’t need to try and take out any potential competition like this.”

“Look, there he is now,” Jean-Jacques said, ignoring Isabella. He cocked his head to the side. “He doesn’t exactly have the look of a dancer, now does he? His presence is one of someone trying to make themselves smaller, not of someone commanding center stage.”

“He doesn’t look like a threat to your reign at all,” Isabella agreed. “Even if he were the real Katsuki at one point in the past, he certainly isn’t that same person.”

Jean-Jacques nodded. “You’re absolutely right. Maybe there isn’t anything to worry about.”

Isabella patted Jean-Jacques’ arm. “I always tell you that you worry too much, darling. You’re the king of the stage. No one will ever dance like you do.” She wrapped her arms around her fiance in a tight embrace and whispered, “I don’t want to see this anxiety of yours turn you into a villain.”

Smiling, Jean-Jacques returned the hug. “You are far too good to me, dearest. Would you like to make this trip to Moscow into a nice vacation for just the two of us?”

“I would love that.”

Someone cleared their throat from not too far away. Jean-Jacques and Isabella turned to see the probably not Yuuri Katsuki averting his gaze from them, cheeks slightly pink from blushing. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but I need to get back to my seat now and the two of you are in the way.”

“Oh, sorry,” Isabella said as she made room for the man to pass them.

“Have fun in Moscow,” Jean-Jacques told him.

“Thanks,” Yuri replied shyly. “You too.”

Yuri, Yura, and Victor sat in silence after Yuri returned to his seat. At first, it felt forced and uncomfortable, but after a while Yuri found himself dozing off. Perhaps it was from all the talk of dancing, but Yuri dreamed of a gorgeous ballroom filled with impeccably dressed adults who moved in time to classical music. The music called to him, and he wanted to join the others on the dance floor. Suddenly, he felt a cold hand wrap around his wrist and distant cries of “fire!”

“Yuri, we have to evacuate!” a familiar voice called, pulling Yuri out of his sleep and forcing him to see that his nightmare was real.

Victor pulled harder at Yuri’s wrist, urging Yuri to follow him. “The fire is is spreading too quickly. Come on, they’re trying to stop the train but we might not have enough time. We have to get off now while it’s still moving.”

“Where’s Yura? And Makkachin?” Yuri asked as Victor dragged him down the corridor in their desperate attempts to find an emergency exit.

Something heavy fell from the ceiling, nearly hitting Victor and blocking their exit. Yuri couldn’t help but feel that something like this had happened before.

“They’ve already evacuated,” Victor told him, his voice worried. “I stayed behind because you wouldn’t wake up.”

“You idiot!” Yuri yelled. “You should have saved yourself.” If something happened to Victor, he would feel the terrible burden of responsibility.

“Nonsense!” Victor shouted back.

The two ran in the opposite direction, trying to find another exit. Yuri noticed two other people still trapped with them, the couple from before. “We have to help them, too,” Yuri said to no one in particular. Louder, he added, “The two of you, follow us. We’ll get you out of here.”

The couple looked at them, desperate, and followed. “We can’t get to any other exists,” the man told them. “Do you have another plan?”

“No,” Victor admitted. “But there’s got to be another way out.”

Yuuri froze as he was struck by an idea. “Do any of you have something heavy, possible metal on your person?”

“No, why?” the man asked.

“The exits may be blocked, but the windows aren’t.”

“Yuri, you’re a genius!” Victor exclaimed.

“Are you suggesting we smash a window and jump out?” the woman asked incredulously.

“Yeah, unless you have a better idea,” Yuri replied.

A partially melted long piece of metal fell from above. This time, instead of running in the opposite direction, Victor took off his scarf and wrapped it around his hands. He picked up the metal stick with his wrapped hands and dashed off to the nearest window.

“This is still really hot,” he complained to himself. “Get back, everyone, glass is going to be flying everywhere.”

Yuri herded the couple to a safe enough distance while Victor took a particularly hard swing at the window. The first swing only cracked the glass, but by the third hit, the window shattered.

“Ladies first!” Victor shouted as the man helped the woman through the window. “You next!” he added after it was clear the woman had gotten out safely. Victor helped to push the man through the window. “Yuri, your turn!”

“If I go out now, who will help you?” Yuri asked as he approached the broken window.

“That doesn’t matter,” Victor instantly replied.

“You have people waiting for you out there! Yura! Makkachin! Let me help you out first!”

Victor hesitated, but he listened to Yuri. “If we both get out of this alive, remind me to thank you,” he said before jumping.

Yuri steadied himself as he grabbed onto the windowsill, pieces of glass digging into his palms. It burned to put more weight on them in order to pull himself up, but knew he couldn’t give up. Snow-laden trees flew past him. The train was barely deccelerating. Taking a deep breath, Yuri jumped into the snow below.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. i'm too weak. i couldn't make jj a villain after episode 11.  
> 2\. i don't own yoi or anastasia


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now these dummies have to walk to Moscow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> episode 12 ended my existence i'm typing from the afterlife and i've never stopped crying

“Yuri, are you alright?” Victor shouted from a distance. His hair was a bit of a mess and there were fine traces of snow all over his clothes.

Yuri picked himself up from the mound of snow he had managed to fall into, and dusted himself off. “I’m fine, just a bit chilly. What about you?”

Victor began walking in the opposite direction of Yuri. “I’m fine, but we need to find Yura and Makkachin,” he explained. “We should probably check to see if that couple is okay, too.”

Yuri bounded through the snow to catch up to Victor, and they continued backtracking together in silence. Yuri was sure Victor must be worried about Yura and Makkachin, so he left Victor alone. While he may not have had many memories or a family to call his own, he certainly understood what it felt like to worry about those who mattered to him.

It didn’t take long before they found the couple, who were walking opposite the direction of Moscow. Yuri was glad to see that they were alright, and that they had found one another.

“You won’t be able to walk back to St. Petersburg from here, you know,” Victor called out to them as he closed the distance between the couple and himself.

“No, but there’s another train station only a couple of miles here,” the man replied. “We’ve decided to take the next train back to St. Petersburg.”

“But what about your trip to Moscow?” Yuri asked. “You’ve nearly made it there.”

The woman shrugged, and gave Yuri a weak smile. “We never really had concrete plans there. It just doesn’t seem like the right thing to do anymore.”

“Well, do you two mind if we keep walking with you until we find our friends?” Victor asked.

The man smiled. “Sure, we don’t mind the company. I’m JJ by the way. And this is my fiancee Isabella.” JJ motioned for Yuri and Victor to follow him and Isabella.

“I’m Victor, and this is my good friend Yuri.” Victor wrapped his arm around Yuri as if to emphasize their alleged friendship. Yuri struggled against how uncomfortable the embrace made him, not wanting to appear as if he disliked Victor.

“I wish you the best of luck in your marriage,” Yuri told them, ignoring Victor’s blatantly false claim that they were friends.

JJ and Isabella smiled, turning toward each other ever so slightly. “I don’t think we’ll need luck,” Isabella replied, “but I appreciate your sentiment.”

The four of them didn’t have to trek much further until they found Yura and Makkachin, who were already on their way to find Victor and Yuri. Makkachin ran and pounced at Victor as soon as he saw his owner. Yura hung back and acted far less excited than Makkachin, and Yuri pretended not to notice there was a bit more urgency in Yura’s steps once he got close enough to see Yuri and Victor. JJ and Isabella pardoned themselves from the reunion, and resumed their journey to the train station.

“I see you two aren’t dead at least,” Yura huffed.

“Weren’t you at least a little bit worried about me, Yura?” Victor asked, his tone teasing. He wrapped his arms around Yura in a tight hug that Yura pretended to hate.

“Whatever, old man. What’s the plan now?”

“Moscow is only a few miles away from here. I say we walk there, spend the night at a cheap hotel, and then continue with the old plan,” Victor explained.

“How many miles is a few miles?” Yura asked warily.

“Almost ten?”

“That’s going to take all day,” Yura complained.

“Look at it like this: now we’ll have plenty of time to teach Yuri everything there is to know about being Yuuri Katsuki before we even make it to Moscow.”

Yuri’s eyes widened with confusion. “What do you mean, teaching me to be Yuuri Katsuki?”

“You won’t be able to convince Minako Okukawa that you’re Yuuri Katsuki just by showing up,” Victor replied simply, as if this explanation were the most logical response in the world.

“What?” Yuri shrieked. “No one told me I had to convince anyone that I’m Yuuri Katsuki! Look the part? Sure! Talk about the last eleven years? Fine! But lie to these people?”

“You don’t know it’s a lie!” Yura reminded him. “Besides, learning about all this stuff might jog your memory.”

“What if it doesn’t? You might as well be asking me to assume a fake identity.”

“Your identity right now is fake,” Yura spat. “Every single day you live without your memories is no better than pretending to be someone else.”

“Plus, not remembering just from being taught about who you are would only mean that information alone isn’t going to bring back your memories,” Victor tried to assure him. “I think I read somewhere that sometimes people with amnesia have to experience something from their old life before they remember it. Besides, isn’t trying this worth the risk if you find out who you really are?”

Yuri groaned. “You’re impossible. Did you know that?”

“But you find it endearing?” Victor asked, grinning.

“Honestly? I find it a bit annoying. It’s almost like you don’t know how to be yourself. Maybe if you weren’t putting on this stupid act all the time, I would have remembered meeting you in the past by now.”

Yuri stormed off, feeling both embarrassed for saying such harsh things to Victor and furious that Victor and Yura had tricked him to get him to come with them. He should have known this whole situation was too good to be true. It was impossible for him to be their ballerina Yuuri Katsuki. He was just orphaned Yuri, a nobody with no past and no future.

It didn’t matter that Yuri had no idea which direction he was wandering off to, so long as it got him away from Victor and Yura. He needed to be as far from them as possible until he calmed down. Then he could go back and explain that he was not continuing this journey with them past Moscow. He would apologize for the inconvenience. They could find someone else to play this part, someone who wanted to get to Japan badly enough to lie.

“Yuri, wait!” Victor called from behind him, sounding a bit out of breath. “Please, wait for me.”

Yuri stopped and turned on his heel. Victor was jogging through the snow to catch up with him, his cheeks red from the cold wind. “What do you want now, Victor?” he asked, his voice coming out far more agitated than he’d meant.

“I wanted to apologize,” Victor admitted. “I didn’t mean to upset you. I’ve been trying really, really hard to do just the opposite in fact.”

“That was stupid of you,” Yuri grumbled.

“I see that now.” Victor paused. “Usually it’s so easy for me to read a person and know what they want me to be. But you? I have no idea what you want from me, who you want me to be to you.”

“You say that like you think I want you to be anyone but yourself. I’m not interested in you tailoring a persona to please me. I just want you to be Victor.”

Victor exhaled hard. Yuri noticed that for the first time since they’d met, Victor looked nervous, almost vulnerable. “No one has ever asked me to just be me before,” Victor mumbled. “I’ll do my best to be myself from now on, but I might need you to call me out on my shit from time to time.”

“I can accept that.”

“Truce?” Victor extended his hand to Yuri, his expression earnest.

Yuri smiled as he took Victor’s hand. “Truce.”

“Are the two of you ready to work together again?” Yura asked as he materialized seemingly out of nowhere.

“You have the worst timing, Yura,” Victor complained. “You ruined the moment we were having.”

“It’s okay,” Yuri decided. “I’m ready to learn about Yuuri Katsuki.”

Victor grinned. “You were born in Hasetsu on November 29,” Victor began. “You started ballet at the age of three.”

Yuri nodded, but he still couldn’t picture himself doing ballet.

“You took lessons locally until you were twelve and Lilia Baranovksaya took notice of you,” Yura added. “You were her youngest student in ages, but you never actually got the chance to train under her.”

“So, shall we begin your lessons?” Victor asked.

Yuri exhaled shakily. “Okay.”

“Now,” Victor commanded, “keep your shoulders straight and stand up tall. Touch your heels together with your toes turned out.” Victor inspected Yuri’s form closely. “And don’t bend your knees so much. This is basic first position, not a plie.”

“I feel a little foolish standing like this,” Yuri admitted. His legs wobbled at first as he got used to the position.

“That’s because you’re not doing it right,” Yura explained. “You need to hold your head up with more pride than that.” Yura pushed Yuri’s chin up so that his neck felt just slightly strained from the pose. “There, now you look like a professional.”

“Confidence is the most important part of dance, especially for a type of dance that tells a story like ballet does,” Victor told him. “You must move as if you own the stage or else the audience will never believe your performance.”

“Were you a dancer?” Yuri asked.

Victor shook his head. “No, but I worked around the dance hall for the Bolshoi Ballet until it burned down. I’ve met quite a few important dancers in my time, and they all carried themselves with self-importance, even off the stage.”

“Including Yuuri Katsuki?” Yuri pressed.

“Yuuri Katsuki was perhaps the quietest, most unassuming dancer I ever met,” Victor reminisced. “I can’t imagine being new to Russia had helped. But even in his shyness, he held himself with the poise and grace of a seasoned dancer. You don’t have to keep holding that stance by the way.”

Yuri hadn’t realized he’d been in first position for the entire time Victor had been speaking. He relaxed his leg, instantly feeling relief flow through them. “Do we begin practicing second position now?” he asked.

Victor raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t know you were familiar with ballet terminology.”

“I’m really not. I don’t know why I assumed there would be something called second position.”

“Well, you were right. Let’s move on to second position.”

Yuuri learned what felt like a lifetime of ballet during their walk to Moscow, although he knew logically that it only just been the most basic positions and jumps. It had been difficult at first because the movements felt somewhat alien, but by the end, he was out-dancing both Yura and Victor. Something about dancing like this made him feel like someone entirely new, and Yuri couldn’t remember ever feeling so alive. Each spin and step sequence he correctly completed brought him a sense of joy that he didn’t quite understand.

“Aren’t you getting tired?” Yura finally asked. “We’re nearly to Moscow and you’re still dancing about.”

“I feel great,” Yuri responded. “I think I’m finally getting the hang of this.” Trying to prove his point, Yuri danced a simple step sequence before launching gracefully into a cabriole, landing cleaning on one foot.

Victor and Yura stared at him, and then at each other. “Did you teach him that?” Yura finally asked. “Because I know I don’t know how to do that.”

Victor shook his head. “I didn’t teach him that either.”

“What’s wrong?” Yuri asked. “It’s just a cabriole, nothing too wild.”

“I didn’t even know it was called that,” Yura stated. “How did you know that?”

Yuri shrugged. “I’ve heard the term before, but I’m not sure where.”

“You’ve not only heard the term, but you’re also able to get it right on the first try?” Yura’s tone was that of pure disbelief.

“I guess so? I really can’t explain it.” Yuri wished he understood how his body seemed to know to jump like that before his mind did. “I just felt like it was the right jump for the step sequence.”

“It was beautiful to watch,” Victor assured him. “Can you show me again?”

Yuri repeated the step sequence and the cabriole perfectly. He barely thought about the movements themselves, deciding that focusing too much on the technical aspects had been holding him back from learning quicker before. Instead, he focused on the familiar sensation of it, as well as the wave of nostalgia for a time he could not remember.

“Breathtaking,” Victor announced once Yuri finished. “It’s like your body creates music as you dance.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Yuri replied, blushing. But when he looked up at Victor, he saw that Victor’s expression was honest and open. He truly found Yuri’s dancing to be beautiful.

“I hate to ruin whatever weird moment the two of you are about to have, but I can see Moscow,” Yura said.

“Thank goodness. My legs are so tired,” Victor replied.

“It’s been quite a long day,” Yuri agreed.

“Come on, let’s find a hotel that allows dogs,” Victor decided as they finally entered the city of Moscow.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> moscow, dancing, and falling in love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> holidays killed me, but i'm back. i'll try to post more frequently now.

Moscow felt more familiar to Yuri than St. Petersburg had, although Yuri hadn’t the slightest idea as to why. He found himself continuously distracted by the sights around him as he followed Victor and Yura to the hotel where they would be staying. Part of Yuri wished they had more time in Moscow so that he could properly explore the strange yet nostalgic city.

“I never thought I’d be back here,” Victor admitted.

“Why’d you leave?” Yuri asked.

“After the Bolshoi fire, there was nothing left for me here but bad memories and ash. I decided it was time for a new start,” Victor explained.

“Stop acting so sentimental, old man,” Yura told him. “You never cared about Moscow and you know it.”

Victor chuckled. “You’re mostly right.”

Yuri wanted to ask what part of Moscow Victor had liked, but he was afraid the answer might be too personal for Victor to be ready to share. Despite their near death experience together, they still barely knew each other. He didn’t want to pry.

“I’ve been to Moscow before, yes?” Yuri asked a little while later as they continued walking.

Victor nodded. “This is where Yuuri Katsuki was to train under Lilia Baranovskaya.”

Yuri considered this. “Were there many people who worked at the dance hall who weren’t dancers?” he asked without quite knowing why. As soon as he asked, though, Yuri felt that is was of absolute importance to know the answer.

“There were a fair few,” Victor replied, giving Yuri a quizzical look.

“Why does something like that matter?” Yura chimed in. “Worried you were actually some kitchen boy instead of the ballerina Victor claims you are?”

Yuri chuckled. “No, nothing like that. I’m not really sure why I even asked. Of course they’d need some non-dancers to run a dance hall.”

Whatever almost memory that danced around Yuri’s mind disappeared when he saw Victor’s puzzled, distant expression. This must be hard for Victor, he realized, to have cherished times together with someone who had no recollection of those times. Yuri desperately wanted to remember for Victor.

***

The three checked into the first hotel that allowed dogs. Victor considered it lucky that they managed to get two adjoining rooms with a door between them so that they could all share as if it were one large room. Yura and Yuri found it slightly less than lucky every single time Victor called it a “slumber party” on their way from the lobby to their fourth floor rooms.

Yuri felt grateful, though, that his room was so close to Victor and Yura. He had worried that they might be on opposite ends of the hotel, and that he would have trouble finding them come morning. He supposed the possibility of Victor barging into his room in the middle of the night was not as bad as being completely alone.

“I’m taking the longest, hottest shower in human history,” Yura declared as he unlocked the door to his and Victor’s hotel room. “No one bother me. I’ll come and find you guys when I’m ready to put up with you again.”

“That’s fair,” Victor replied. “I have some business I need to wrap up in town, but it shouldn’t take too long. Then, maybe we could all get some dinner together.”

“Whatever,” Yura replied as he slammed the door behind him.

“Why don’t you get settled in your room, maybe rest a bit?” Victor suggested. “You’ve had quite an exhausting day.”

“But I want to see the city,” Yuri pleaded.

“I’ll take you out to see Moscow tonight, but only if you rest. And maybe take a nice hot bath too? I’m sure you could stand to relax a bit after everything.”

“Fine,” Yuri conceded.

Yuri entered his hotel room and immediately collapsed on the bed. He hadn’t realized how much his body was aching until that moment. Perhaps Victor had been right. He needed rest, and he needed to relax. His only real sleep lately had been the strange dream he’d had on the train before the fire broke out. It couldn’t be healthy to keep pushing himself so hard.

He forced himself up off the bed and took a hot shower. It soothed the dull ache in his muscles to some extent, but also made his eyes heavy with sleep. He almost worried about falling asleep in the shower until he heard unintelligible arguing in the adjoining room. While he didn’t pry and try to listen to whatever it was Yura and Victor were talking about, the sound was enough to keep him awake.

There was a knock on the door almost as soon as Yuri turned off the shower. “Are you decent? It’s Victor.”

Yuri wrapped himself in a hotel towel and opened the door to see Victor with his arms full of shopping bags and a wide heart-shaped grin spread across his face. “Your old clothes don’t suit you at all,” Victor stated as he pushed a shopping bag at Yuri. “I figured I should get you something a bit nicer to wear as we get closer to Japan.”

“You didn’t have to do that,” Yuri insisted. He didn’t want to know how much that might have cost. He already felt a tad guilty that Yura and Victor were paying for this entire trip.

Victor inspected Yuri quickly before he replied, “Trust me, I really did. These will suit your frame much better.” He paused for a moment, almost nervous. “Just get changed and meet me in the lobby. Yura and I are taking you out for a night on the town.”

Victor turned around to hurriedly leave the room, giving Yuri the privacy of having the room to himself in order to change. Carefully, Yuri opened the shopping bag and pulled out each piece of an elegant blue suit. As he changed out of his old clothes from the orphanage and into the suit, Yuri decided that this was the most beautiful outfit he’d ever worn.

As soon as he felt that his appearance was reasonable enough to meet up with Victor and Yura, Yuri headed down to the lobby. Yura was in a black suit that contrasted beautifully with his fair skin, while Victor wore a charcoal suit that brought out the blue of his eyes.

“You look so good,” Victor exclaimed as soon as he saw Yuri.

“Not terrible,” Yura agreed.

“Thanks,” Yuri replied sheepishly. “You both look great.”

“Let’s not stand around being nice all evening,” Yura complained. “Victor said he knows a restaurant with great pirozhki, and I’m starving.”

***

The restaurant was indeed quite lovely. The food and the wine were both incredible, at least to Yuri, who had never exactly experienced fine dining during his time in the orphanage. While he was excited about the exquisite food, Yuri found himself anxiously awaiting a chance to join the dance floor, which was filled with joyous guests dancing to the live classical band. Something about watching all of them was mesmerizing, and he needed to be a part of it.

“Dance with me,” Yuri insisted as he tugged on Victor’s sleeve.

“I really don’t dance,” Victor admitted. “You can dance, and I’ll stay here and watch. Maybe Yura will dance with you?” The last part came out as more of a desperate plea than a suggestion.

“Like hell I will,” Yura said with a snort. “Come on, just dance with the guy. There’s enough of a crowd on the dance floor that no one will see you making a fool of yourself.”

“Please,” Yuri all but begged.

“I don’t know how,” Victor told him.

Yuri didn’t accept that answer, and instead extended his hand for Victor to take. “So? If I can learn to it, you can learn to do it.”

Victor finally agreed, and Yuri pulled him to the dance floor. “I can lead if that’d make you feel more comfortable,” Yuri told him.

“I’d like that very much,” Victor replied, “at least until I get a sense of what we’re doing.”

“Put your left hand on my shoulder, and take my hand with your right hand,” Yuri explained as he put his arm around Victor’s waist. “We’ll just do some basic steps to the music for now.”

“Okay,” Victor replied as he and Yuri began their clumsy waltz. “How do you know how to waltz anyway? I thought you told me you weren’t a dancer.”

Yuri shook his head. “I do believe I told you I wasn’t a ballerina. I’ve loved to dance since as long as I can remember. Something about it just feels natural.”

“You look radiant when you dance,” Victor admitted. “Confident, too. Like you were born to do this.”

Yuri blushed slightly as he smiled at the praise. “You’re not so bad either, for a beginner.” The rhythm of the music picked up as the next song began. “Do you feel like you can handle a tango?”

“Only if you keep leading,” Victor decided.

“The basics aren’t too terribly different from a waltz,” Yuri began. “The problem most people have at the beginning is that the tango is so much faster, and they trip and fall over their own feet.”

Victor’s grip on Yuri tightened. “Don’t let me fall, Yuri.”

“I won’t.”

Their attempt at tango, despite Victor’s natural gracefulness, managed to be quite a mess. They kept stepping on each others’ toes and colliding awkwardly. Yuri felt relieved when the song finally ended and the music became slow again. He was content to sway gently with Victor and let the music flow through the both of them. It was almost hypnotic to move like this with another person, especially as Victor gained more confidence in his movements. His eyes sparkled with an emotion Yuri couldn’t quite decipher. Yuri wondered if there had ever been a person alive more beautiful than Victor.

“I’m starting to feel a little dizzy from all the spinning,” Victor said as he slowed his movements to a stop. His cheeks were flushed, and he bit on his lower lip nervously. “I think maybe we should stop spinning for now.”

“We have stopped,” Yuri reminded him gently.

“Oh.” Victor cleared his throat. “Well, this was, this was nice. Um. Thanks.”

“Yeah, thanks.”

“We should probably head back to the table before Yura leaves without us.”

The two headed back to the table with what felt like too much space between them after dancing so close to one another. Yuri wanted to pull Victor closer, to feel the warmth radiating from him the way he had as they danced. He quickly shook those thoughts from his head. This was not the time to dwell on such feelings.

“I wondered if you two were ever going to get off the dance floor,” Yura told them. “I’m surprised the two of you aren’t fused together after all that.”

“We were having fun,” Victor replied. “You could have been out there having fun with us.”

“No thanks,” Yura scoffed. “Let’s just get back to the hotel. I want to crash onto that bed and get into a near comatose level of sleep as soon as possible.”

The three headed back to the hotel, while Yura surprisingly contributed the most to their conversations. Yuri’s mind was still waltzing on the dance floor, and Victor’s expression betrayed that he was equally as distracted.

“I’m going to head in now,” Yura told them. “You guys can say your goodnights or whatever without me.” With that, Yura entered his hotel room and shut the door hard behind him.

“I had a nice time with you tonight,” Victor said.

“Me, too,” Yuri agreed.

Victor took Yuri’s hand. “I’ve always watched other people dance, but I never tried myself. Until tonight.” Victor leaned into Yuri’s personal space, their mouths within inches of each other. “Thank you.”

“I should go to bed,” Yuri squeaked as he scurried into his room and slammed the door behind him, suddenly too embarrassed for the quickly building intimacy of the moment. “Goodnight, Victor.”

“Goodnight, Yuri,” Victor said quietly.

Yuri leaned against the door of his hotel room and tried to catch his breath, his heart pounding in his chest, when heard Victor whisper something so faintly on the other side that the words almost didn’t seem to be meant for him: “thank you for keeping your promise to me.” Yuri sank to the floor as confusion wracked his thoughts. He had never meant to fall in love with Victor.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> yuri tries to reconcile his feelings for victor, his exhausting day, and his forgotten past
> 
> aka it's a nightmare scene about the night of the fire

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's a little shorter than the last couple of chapters, but i wanted this whole thing to be the nightmare and honestly how much nightmare description can any of us handle

Despite his long and exhausting day, Yuri struggled to find peaceful sleep. Instead, he tossed and turned in his hotel bed as his anxiety over his feelings for Victor fought against his need for sleep. With everything else going on right now, Yuri couldn’t afford to fall for Victor. Victor was temporary. He was only going to be by Yuri’s side until they arrived in Hasetsu. Then, they would part ways and be nothing more than a memory to one another.

Yuri kept repeating this to himself, but even trying to rationalize this situation did not help him to find sleep. Instead, he tried focusing on the people in Hasetsu that were waiting for him. They were his future. They wanted him to return home, and of course, Yuri desperately wanted Hasetsu to be his home. He thought of the people Victor and Yura had told him about earlier that day: Minako Okukawa and the Katsuki family. Yuri wondered if he would ever properly remember them.

The transition between wakefulness and dreaming was so slow and blurred that Yuri almost didn’t notice when sleep finally came. Had it not been for the spinning sensation and the rapid change from darkness into a brightly lit music hall, Yuri might have never noticed that he had finally fallen asleep.

The dance hall was more glorious than any place Yuri had seen even on television, and yet he sense that he knew this place. It was somewhere that was once important to him, sacred even. Yuri was filled with excitement and nervous energy to be here. Something in him knew that being in this place was some kind of great achievement.

He could have watched the adults dancing across the room for hours and never tire of it. They all moved with such grace and precision around one another that it almost seemed choreographed. Yuri wished to join them, but he worried he would look clumsy by comparison.

“Are you one of the dancers?” the voice of a younger man asked from behind him.

Yuri was prepared to say no, he was not a dancer, at least not like the people here. But when he turned around to face the person who’d been speaking to him, he suddenly found that he had transformed into his child self. He was dressed in a black suit that was too big with a pale blue tie that he knew didn’t really go with the rest of his outfit.

The boy who had spoken to him before now appeared older than him, and he was tall enough that he leaned down a bit to talk to Yuri. He had long, silvery hair that was pulled back into a messy ponytail and blue eyes that reminded Yuri of Victor.

“I wish I could dance like that,” the silver haired boy said wistfully.

“I could show you someday when I’m as good as them,” Yuri promised. “We could dance together.”

“We should dance now,” the boy insisted, and somehow Yuri felt that this wasn’t how the conversation was meant to go.

The boy grabbed Yuri’s wrist and pulled him toward the dance floor. While the boy was graceful and able to move to the rhythm of the music, it was clear he had no proper training. Yuri tried on several occasions to lead in classical pairs dancing, but finally gave up to engage in silly dancing with the boy. The two laughed at one another and themselves. Yuri couldn’t remember the last time he’d had so much fun with someone.

“Isn’t it a shame it didn’t happen like this?” the boy asked after a while. “Why’d you have to go and hit your head so hard? We were supposed to become friends.”

“Huh?” Yuri had no idea what the boy was going on about.

“When you escaped this place with Ms. Okukawa, you both got into an accident. Don’t you even remember that?” the boy continued. “There was blood everywhere. It was horrible.”

“Why would I have needed to escape?” Yuri pressed.

Suddenly, Yuri and the boy were the only two people in the dance hall. The music stopped and the hall went dark before suddenly erupting with bright hot flames. This is just a nightmare, Yuri kept trying to convince himself. The more he told himself that this was a nightmare, the more realistic it felt.

Flashes of scenes he could almost remember played out in the flames. The vision of a woman he was certain he knew pulled at his wrist, before she too became part of the fire. This was not mere nightmare chaos, he realized. He had lived through something like this once before. Yuri was trapped within a war between his past and a nightmare.

“Yuuri Katsuki, where are you?” the boy screamed for him.

“Over here!” Yuri shouted, unsure where of where he was amidst the smoke and flames.

“I can’t find you anywhere! You have to get out of here!”

“No!” Yuri cried. “I can’t just leave you here!”

“You don’t have a choice! Just don’t keep me waiting this time! And please don’t forget me again!” the boy called, his voice growing more distant.

“But what’s your name? How will I find you?”

“My name is Victor,” the voice came from inside Yuri’s head this time. “Find me!”

The young boy called Victor stood inches from Yuri’s face. His expression twisted into something cruel and terrifying before he became one with the flames. The fiery boy reached out to Yuri and grabbed him around the throat. The fire grew angrier, and Yuri was sure he was burning alive. It was so terribly hot. He was gasping for air. He couldn’t get out of the dance hall. This wasn’t how the memory was supposed to go. The story wasn’t supposed to end here.

“Yuuri Katsuki!” the boy screamed for him as ash and sparks erupted from his mouth. “Yuuri!”

Yuri woke with a start, breathing hard. Strong hands clutched onto his shoulders. “You’re awake now,” Victor soothed him. “Yuri, it’s okay. You’re awake.”

“Victor?” Yuri asked, unsure if he was awake or still dreaming. The face in front of him alternated between Victor and the young boy he had been dancing with, and Yuri began to have trouble telling the difference between the two. Yuri was barely aware that his unsteady hands were reaching out to Victor’s head. “Where’s the rest of your hair?”

“I come in here to wake you from a nightmare and you tell me I’m balding,” Victor muttered, sounding slightly dejected. “It isn’t really getting that thin, is it?”

“No, no. Why is it so short now?” Yuri clarified.

Victor gaped at him. “I never told you that I used to have long hair,” he finally said.

Yuri threw his arms around Victor as tightly as he could manage. “I’m so sorry I forgot about you,” he sobbed. “You saved my life and I couldn’t even recognize your face. Please, please forgive me.”

Victor tentatively patted Yuri on the back. “I’m really not good with people crying,” he confessed. “I have no idea what I’m supposed to do.” He exhaled shakily. “But I am so relieved that you finally remember me.”


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> i'm gonna be real with you: this chapter is the process of getting from moscow to hasetsu, so it's really not amazing. next chapter will be the "paris holds they key" chapter, so that'll be twice as amazing to make up for this filler.

“You better not mope like this for the entire flight,” Yura complained.

They had already been on the plan for over an hour, and Yuuri was fast asleep, headphones playing some kind of soothing music that Victor could almost hear from beside him. Victor supposed that was for the best, considering how rough the previous night had been for him. Remembering a long lost past in such a sudden, frightening way must have been difficult.

“By the time we get to Seoul, I’ll be back to normal,” Victor promised, his tone rather despondent.

“What’s with you anyway?” Yura asked. “You disappeared in the middle of the night, and you’ve been all pathetic and sad ever since.”

“We have the real Yuuri Katsuki,” Victor explained.

Yura scoffed. “It certainly seems that way sometimes, huh? I don’t know how you managed to see his potential, but I’ll admit I’m impressed with how well he’s pulling this off.”

Victor shook his head. “No, he really is Yuuri Katsuki. Last night, he remembered the fire, remembered meeting me there. He’s the real deal.”

It took a moment, but Yura’s eyes widened with shock as he realized the implications of the situation. “So by returning him to Hasetsu, we’re actually doing a good thing?” He paused, his expression becoming more serious. “Then why are you so unhappy? Doesn’t it make all of this easier, knowing he’s the real Katsuki? It’s not a scam anymore. There’s no chance of getting caught or arrested now.”

Victor sighed. “But he’ll return to his home and his family, and he’ll realize that he can do a whole lot better than ending up with someone like me.”

“I’m going to be real with you for just a moment,” Yura paused to gather himself for a moment. “That’s easily the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard someone say in front of me.”

“It’s true though.”

“No, it’s not even remotely true, you moron. I’ve watched you two idiots fall for each other during this whole stupid trip. He’s not going to change his mind just because of some memories. Now shut up and, oh I don’t know, get some sleep maybe. We’ve still got a little while until our layover in Seoul.”

Victor closed his eyes and tried to rest, but instead, he felt more awake than ever. The pressing anxieties that had been swirling around in his thoughts were louder than before now that there were no distractions. While he desperately wanted to believe Yura, he couldn’t find a way to make himself believe that Yura was being realistic. It was his worries of inadequacy that felt far more truthful to him.

***

The layover in Seoul was rather short, luckily, and they were able to get on the plane to Fukuoka without problem. The biggest difficulty had been getting Yuri to wake up and get off the first plane. Victor almost didn’t want to wake Yuri, but Yura had no problem shaking Yuri into consciousness.

However, the plane ride to Fukuoka was not as peaceful for any of them. Yuri didn’t fall asleep this time, and he kept trying to make conversation with Victor. While Victor enjoyed speaking to Yuri, the conversations kept returning to Yuri’s real identity, forcing Victor to be repeatedly reminded that Yuri was not someone he could hold onto.

It didn’t help that Yura had chosen not to sit near them, claiming he wanted to focus on getting some rest before their arrival. Victor had a sneaking suspicion that Yura was actually trying to force him to talk through things with Yuri, but he didn’t question it because then he’d have to admit he was now worried about being alone with Yuri.

“I hope my family recognizes me,” Yuri said wistfully halfway through their meandering conversation. “It’s been such a long time since I’ve seen them.” He paused, trying to remember something. “I was supposed to go home and visit in the summer after the fire, but I forgot. I hope they don’t hold that against me.”

“I don’t think you have anything to worry about,” Victor assured him. “You are Yuuri Katsuki, and they’ll be able to see that. More than anything, I think they’ll be relieved to have you back with them.”

“And what will you do once everything gets settled?” Yuri asked. “Where will you go?”

Victor found that he didn’t have an answer. It had been so easy to just move on to any good enough location before he’d become emotionally invested in this. Now, Victor wanted to stay. Now, more than ever, Victor felt that he wouldn’t be wanted if he stayed.

“I’ll probably just go wherever it is Yura wants to go,” he finally replied, sounding unsure of his own response. “I haven’t really thought much on it.”

“Oh,” was all Yuri said.

“I’m open to suggestions,” Victor told him.

Yuri’s cheeks flushed pink. “You could stay in Japan. With me. You don’t have to, of course. I’m sure you don’t even want to. It’s just a small town after all and I’m sure you’re looking for something grander.”

“I’ll stay as long as you’ll have me.”

Yuri chuckled softly. “I can’t imagine you’ll want to stay long, but you’re always welcome. Yura and Makkachin are too, of course.”

“Why would you think I wouldn’t want to stay?” Victor found himself asking.

“Well, it just doesn’t seem like something you’d do. I know this whole trip might have made it seem like I’m an interesting or adventurous person, but really I’m quite average. Boring even.”

“I don’t think I could ever find you boring.”

Yuri paused, unsure of how to answer. “Well, I guess we should see how things go with Minako and my family before we make any big decisions about the future.”

“Can I ask you something personal?”

Yuri hesitated. “I suppose so.”

“Did you have a crush on Minako when you were little?”

Yuri’s mouth fell open, flabbergasted. “Of course not! She’s as old as my mother. That would be incredibly inappropriate.”

The tension seemed to lift, if only slightly, as the two spent the rest of the flight bickering over silly things. Yuri had been right, after all. Weightier topics could be left undiscussed until after things were settled in Hasetsu. Their shared future was far less important than Yuri’s immediate future.

***

Once they landed in Fukuoka, Yuri took control of the group. Despite his long absence from Japan and the numerous changes to the area that had happened since he was last there, he seemed to have a better sense of where they were going than Yura or Victor. Sometimes, he would pause at a seemingly random location to tell the other two about a memory he had of that place.

They took public transit from Fukuoka to Hasetsu, but even then, there was still quite a long walk ahead of them. Victor reminded them that at least it wasn’t as bad as the walk from the middle of nowhere to Moscow, only to be met with Yura’s bitter grumblings.

“Do you even know where you’re headed?” Yura asked after they were walking for almost an hour. “There’s no way this desolate town is so big that it’d take us this long to get where we’re going.”

“Of course I know where I’m going,” Yuri insisted. “You can orient yourself pretty easily based on where you are in relation to the old temples at the top of the mountain.”

“You know, it’s really a shame that you got so many memories back but you can’t figure out the name of this Minako woman’s studio,” Yura lamented. “Then we could at least look it up, maybe get some google maps directions.”

“I think it’s more exciting this way,” Victor interjected. “Think of it as an unofficial tour of Hasetsu. We’re learning so much about the area before even reaching our destination.”

“That’s what you always say right before you admit to being lost,” Yura complained.

“You say that like I get lost a lot,” Victor pouted.

“You do. You can’t remember directions for shit, old man.”

“This is it,” Yuri declared, effectively ending the beginning of Yura and Victor’s bickering. “We’ve made it to Minako’s studio.”

He grabbed Victor’s hand and ran toward the studio while Victor struggled to maintain the same pace. Yura followed behind at a slower pace, not wanting to betray his interest in seeing how the situation unfolded.

Yuri stopped running when he saw a young man with blonde and bright red hair standing around the front of the studio. The two inspected each other, curious.

“You’re here to see Minako?” the blonde boy asked.

“Yes, I am,” Yuri replied. “I’m Katsuki Yuuri. And these,” Yuri gestured to Victor, Yura, and Makkachin, “are the kind people who helped me get here.”

The blonde boy shook his head. “I’m sorry, but Minako has seen too many people pretending to be Katsuki Yuuri. She simply won’t see anyone else, no matter how convincing they may seem.”


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuri tries to get an audience with Minako and finally feel at home in Hasetsu.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> man i suck at summaries so here's the official one that actually came to my head: shit gets wild and victor may or may not commit a crime

“What do you mean Minako won’t see anyone else, won’t see us?” Yura spat. “We came here all the way from St. Petersburg to bring her Katsuki Yuuri!”

The smaller blonde boy sighed. “And others have come from even further claiming the same thing. There’s no reason to believe you’re all nothing but another group of con artists trying to get the reward money.”

“It shouldn’t matter who came here before us!” Yura barked, rolling up his sleeves and preparing to charge toward the other boy. “This is the real Katsuki Yuuri and we can prove it!”

Victor grabbed onto Yura’s arms to restrain him from possibly harming the blonde. “Yura, your temper won’t do us any good,” Victor chided.

The two began bickering back and forth in Russian, much to the confusion of the boy from outside the ballet studio. Ignoring them, Yuri approached the young man. “I’m sorry to hear that people have been trying to trick Minako-sensei,” he said quietly in Japanese that he was barely aware he remembered. “That’s quite a terrible thing for people to do. I’m also sorry about my friend. He’s got a bit of a temper, but he means well. At least, I think he does.”

“It’s alright I guess. I’m Minami Kenjirou by the way,” Minami replied.

“Yuuri,” Yuri said. The elongated ‘u’ felt more natural on his tongue than the choppy way his name had been pronounced during all his time in Russia.

Minami chuckled. “And your real name?”

“That is my real name,” Yuri answered simply. “Even after the fire and then the accident, I’ve always remembered at least this part of me.”

“We’ve had quite a lot of impressive liars come through here claiming to be Katsuki Yuuri, but you might be the first one I almost believe. You even have a slight Hasetsu accent coming through your speech.”

“It doesn’t matter whether or not you believe me,” Yuri decided. “I know who I am, and more importantly, I know that I’ve finally made it home.” Instinctively, Yuri fiddled with the locket around his neck. The inscription on the back may not have brought him together with his family, but at least it brought him to where he belonged.

“Can I see that?” Minami asked, pointing to the locket. “You don’t have to take it off. I just want to get a closer look.”

“Uh, sure,” Yuri replied.

Minami quickly grasped the locket and flipped it over, forcing Yuri to jerk forward a bit in the process. “Together in Hasetsu,” Minami read aloud. “Where did you get this?”

“Minako-sensei gave this to me the night of the Bolshoi fire,” Yuri explained. “She wanted me to visit her ballet studio whenever I came home.”

Minami gaped. “This locket looks exactly like she described, although a little beat up. I suppose it would, though, after all this time.”

“Huh?”

“You really are the real deal, aren’t you? Wow, I used to look up to you when I was a little kid. I almost can’t believe this. You’re really here. And alive!” Minami gushed. “This changes everything.” Loud enough to snap Yura and Victor out of their arguing, he proclaimed, “I’m going to find Minako and try to get her to change her mind. She needs to see this Yuuri.”

“But you just said she wouldn’t see anyone else!” Yura shouted. “Were you just messing with us or something?”

“She really won’t see anyone else, but your Yuuri has convinced me. We have to find a way to get her to meet him,” Minami explained. “The Tokyo Ballet will be performing tonight, and Minako never misses a performance. Why don’t the three of you stop by and maybe run into her there?”

“It’s settled then,” Victor declared. “We are going to the ballet!”

***

In the end, only Yuri and Victor decided to go to the ballet. Yura wanted to hang back at the hotel, claiming something about needing a break from the other two. However, Victor had a suspicion that Yura simply didn’t feel like being the third wheel that evening. Victor was admittedly relieved that Yura wouldn’t be there. His temper hadn’t exactly been helping their cause.

As Victor prepared for the ballet, he tried his best to push down his anxieties that this might be the last time Yuri would want him around. After all, once he met Minako, Yuri would officially be Katsuki Yuuri from now on. Victor knew how he fit into the life of Yuri the orphan, but not the life of Katsuki Yuuri. He decided, then, as he left his room to find Yuri that he wanted to make sure Yuri was aware of how much Victor cared about him.

“Are you ready, Yuri?” Victor asked as he knocked on Yuri’s hotel room door. “It’s about time for us to leave.”

“Victor, I’ve been thinking,” Yuri said as he came out of his hotel room.

“Yes?”

“I don’t think I could have ever made it this far if it weren’t for you and Yura. So thank you.”

“You’re talking like this is the end,” Victor noticed. “You’re not asking me to leave already, are you?”

Yuri shook his head. “Just the opposite. I’d like to have you with me, possibly longer than you’d anticipated. Please, stay with me until the end of this journey, until the end of seeing Minako and my family.”

“Oh, Yuri,” Victor said, taking Yuri’s hand in his and kissing his knuckles. “In that case, I wish this journey would never end.”

Yuri wrapped his arms around Victor for a tight hug. “Thank you,” he whispered. “Thank you for helping me realize who I am.”

“Of course. Now let’s go see the ballet.”

***

Victor felt a surge of both apprehension and excitement after the end of the ballet. He knew he had no right to feel any apprehension. He truly had found Katsuki Yuuri. Bringing him to Minako meant he was doing the right thing. Surely, she would recognize Yuuri as soon as she saw him.

Victor ushered Yuri toward the entrance to Minako and Minami’s box seats. He could feel Yuri’s hand trembling in his, and tightened his grip in an attempt to reassure him. Yuri squeezed his hand back, a hopeful sign to Victor that this should go okay.

“Don’t worry, she’ll recognize you,” Victor said easily. “She’ll love you.”

“But what if she doesn’t?” Yuri asked.

“She will,” Victor insisted. “Wait here. I’ll make an introduction and bring her out to you.”

“Thank you,” Yuri whispered.

“Good evening, madame, my name is Victor Nikiforov. I wish to reintroduce to you the former Bolshoi Ballet student Katsuki Yuuri,” Victor announced in a bold, almost theatrical voice as he entered the box seats.

Minami smiled and waved awkwardly at him. He looked at if there was something he wanted to say, but kept his mouth shut.

Minako turned to him, not bothering to hide her annoyance. “As I’m sure you’ve already been told, I’m not interested in seeing another fake Yuuri. Please leave.”

“I know you’ve been lied to before, but the man I want to introduce you to really is Katsuki Yuuri.”

“Do you really think you can trick me with that unconvincing sympathetic tone? I don’t care how well you’ve trained him or how much he looks the part, they’re always fakes in the end,” she huffed.

“All I’m asking is for you to meet him,” Victor insisted. “Can’t you at least do that?”

Minako’s expression changed to one of realization, and then anger. “Wait, Victor, I’ve heard of you. You’re that con artist from St. Petersburg who was holding auditions to find the perfect Katsuki Yuuri lookalike.,” Minako accused.

“That may have been how it started, but-”

“Get out of my sight! I don’t want to hear anything else you have to say,” Minako cut him off.

“Please, can’t you just look at him?” Victor pleaded as Minami struggled to pull him out and into the hallway. “It really is him!”

“I’m sorry,” Minami told him, shrugging. “I guess it wasn’t meant to be.”

“But you saw the necklace. You know it’s him,” Victor argued.

“I trust Minako’s judgement more than I trust some foreign con artist, even if you do have the necklace,” Minami said. “Now please, both of you need to leave.” He ushered them outside and shut the door behind him.

Yuri, who had been unnaturally quiet for the whole ordeal, was now glaring at Victor. Victor wondered if Yuri blamed Victor for how poorly everything had gone.

“I’m sorry about tonight, but we can try again,” Victor promised. He would try as many times as he had to so long as Yuri was happy.

“No, we won’t. You used me!” Yuri shouted. “You lied to me! This was all just some stupid scheme to get rich. You didn’t even care if I turned out to be Katsuki Yuuri so long as I could play the part!”

“You’re right,” Victor said, feeling defeated. “It all started off as just a selfish plan.”

“Was anything you said to me true at all?” Yuri demanded. “Did you ever feel anything for me, or was that just part of the act too?”

“Of course my feelings for you are real. How could you even ask me that?”

“How can you expect me to believe you, to trust you?” Yuri’s eyes filled with tears.

“Please, let’s try to talk about this calmly.”

“No! Let’s end this. Just leave me alone.”

Whatever explanation Victor was trying to craft died on his lips at the sound of those words. Despite having expected Yuri to try and end whatever it was they had, he hadn’t expected it to happen like this. Now, Yuri’s last memory of him would be as nothing more than liar.

Victor rarely cried, but now hot tears streamed down his face as Yuri stormed off in the opposite direction. He didn’t know what to do. He knew he had no right to stop Yuri, to try and convince him to stay. Yuri had never truly belonged with him anyway. “I’m sorry,” he whispered, either to himself or to Yuri, he honestly wasn’t sure.

Victor went to walk back to their hotel when he saw his last possible opportunity to convince Minako to meet Yuuri. It was idiotic, reckless. He absolutely should under no circumstances follow through with the idea he’d just had. Yet, Victor’s feet seemed to move on their own accord as he watched Minako get into her car, and then knocked out her driver and took his place.

Heart pounding, Victor drove in the direction of the hotel rather than wherever it was Minako had been going. It didn’t take long for her to notice.

“What the hell is going on?” she shouted from the back of the car.

“I’m taking you to meet Yuuri,” Victor replied through gritted teeth.

Minako gasped. “Turn this car around and let me out right now!”

“Not until you meet Yuuri.”

“Why are you so insistent that I meet your actor?” Minako questioned. “What do you think you have that all the others didn’t?”

“I just want him to be happy,” Victor replied. He turned to her. “I know it’s been years and my hair is far shorter now, but do you really not recognize me?”

Minako studied Victor’s face for a moment. “You’re the young boy who helped us escape the fire,” she realized. “You were talking to Yuuri earlier that night, too.”

“I know I’ve not made the best choices since then and you have no reason to believe anything I have to say, but talk to him,” Victor implored. “He didn’t come here for money, but because of some inscription on the back of a locket that says ‘together in Hasetsu’. He just wants to come home.”

“A locket?” Minako asked.

“Yeah, I’m sure it used to be nice, but the inscription’s gotten a bit worn out since he never takes it off. You can still read it, though, even though the edges of the letters aren’t as crisp as they once were.”

“Very well. I will go meet your Katsuki Yuuri, but don’t expect me to react favorably toward him simply because you saved my life once,” Minako decided.

“Of course, Madame, I would never expect that of you.”

With that, Minako left the car and headed to Yuri’s room. Victor remained in the car, sighing heavily. No matter how this ended, he hoped that Yuri could at least be happy. He had, at the very least, made it back home.

***

“Go away, Victor,” Yuri replied to the knock on the door. He was perfectly content to remain curled up and alone on top of the hotel bed covers for the evening.

However, it was not Victor who entered the room. Instead, Minako stood at the doorway, studying Yuri with a curious expression. Yuri’s eyes met hers for a brief moment, but he quickly averted her gaze.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize it was you,” he told her.

“I’m well aware of who you thought it was,” she stated. “I think the question now is, who are you?”

“Katsuki Yuuri,” Yuri said, “although I’m sure you don’t believe me. After everything you’ve been through, I wouldn’t believe me either.”

“You certainly look like Yuuri,” she said as she walked closer to him. “And you carry yourself in a similar way. So far, you are the most convincing of everyone who has been brought to me.”

“I don’t want to trick you,” Yuri told her. “I just wanted to find a home and a family. I knew I could never forgive myself if I didn’t listen to the inscription on my locket and return to the people who have been waiting for me.” He flipped over the locket to show the inscription. “When you gave this to me, I thought it would only be a couple of months before we’d be together again.” He paused, remorseful. “I’m sorry, but I’ve since lost the key to your studio.”

Minako’s fingers ghosted across the inscription. Her eyes flickered up at Yuri. “I can’t believe it,” she all but whispered. “It really is you. Yuuri, you made us wait for too long.” She wrapped her arms around Yuri, almost too tight, and buried her face in his shoulder.

Yuri returned the embrace. “I’m sorry for being gone so long. I won’t let it happen again.”


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuri finds his true home, and Victor struggles to find his happiness.

Yuri’s reintroduction to his family had been just as tearful and joyous as anyone could have predicted, and yet there was an undercurrent of familiarity that relieved Yuri’s fears of not belonging after all this time. He knew that he was missed, and he was loved, and that he was always welcome here.

The Katsuki family not only welcomed Yuri into their home with open arms, but they also extended their welcome to Yura, Victor, and Makkachin for as long as they wished to stay. Yura, after sampling the katsudon, told the Katsuki family that while he was not ready to settle down anywhere in particular, he would certainly visit from time to time. Victor, however, quietly excused himself from the reunion early on, seemingly uncomfortable with still being around Yuri after Yuri had yelled at him the previous night.

“Victor, could I talk to you?” Minako asked as she caught him leaving Yutopia Akatsuki.

Victor nodded. “I suppose I ought to apologize to you for my actions yesterday-”

“Shh,” Minako cut him off. “While your methods were terrible, I can see how you may have deemed them a necessary response to my stubbornness. There is no need for an apology.”

“Oh,” Victor said lamely. “Then what is it you wanted to talk about?”

“Your reward, of course. I’ve talked to your friend Yura already, and we have come to an agreement.”

“I do not feel deserving of any reward,” Victor admitted.

“Twice now, I have found myself in your debt,” Minako said, “and yet you claim you have no interest in any sort of compensation?”

Victor shook his head. “The happiness of the Katsuki family, as well as your happiness, are enough of a reward.”

As Victor turned to leave, Minako called after him, “And what of your happiness, Victor?” Victor quickened his pace, determined not to think of her question. The source of his recent happiness wanted him to leave. He wished to respect that even if it hurt. He’d already booked a flight out of Fukuoka airport for that evening.

***

Sounds of celebration could be heard through all of Hasetsu, but the hub of the jubilee came from Yutopia Akatsuki. The Katsuki family had decided to throw an impromptu party to celebrate the return of their son. While Yuri was ecstatic to be home, all this celebration was a bit much to handle. He wished his parent could have held off and waited for him to get more comfortable with being home first.

Yuri managed to spend a bit over an hour being tossed around the guests, most of whom he barely knew even in his youth, before sneaking outside for a moment of much needed solitude. He had to thank Mari for suggesting her usual smoke break spot. It was just as isolated as she had told him.

He appreciated the silence. Too much was happening all at once. He’d barely had time to accept that he’d gotten home on a fluke, that Victor was nothing but a con man, and now an entire town was congratulating him on his return. He needed this time alone outside to think and sort out his thoughts.

“I see you’re taking a break from the celebration as well,” Minako commented as she joined Yuri outside.

Yuri sighed, and smiled. “It’s wonderful, and I’m so unbelievably happy to be home. It’s just a bit overwhelming for me.”

Minako patted Yuri’s back. “I understand. You always were a nervous kid, especially with crowds. In fact, I think that Victor was the only person I’ve ever seen you socialize well with at a party.” She paused. “Honestly, I’m surprised he’s not out here with you.”

“Oh no, he’s probably gone off to who knows where to spend all of his reward money,” Yuri grumbled. He didn’t want to be reminded of Victor right now, not during a party where he was supposed to be focused on his new future.

Minako put her hand on Yuri’s shoulder. “While this may have been the life you were born into and the life you wanted as a child, I cannot expect you to still want it as an adult.”

Yuri shook his head. “No, no. Of course I want this. I’m finally home where I belong.”

“Yes, you are home, and you will always be welcome here, but it seems to me that your heart is not satisfied with this alone.” She paused, pulling Yuri closer. “My dear, Victor didn’t take the money.”

“What? But that was the whole point of him bringing me here.”

Minako smiled. “I supposed he changed his mind, Or perhaps it was a change of heart.”

Understanding struck Yuri. “There’s somewhere I need to be, Minako,” he said suddenly. “I don’t suppose you could cover for me in my absence?”

“Of course.” Minako pulled Yuri into a hug. “His flight doesn’t leave for a little while yet. You still have time.”

Yuri dashed off to in the direction of Fukuoka airport. He refused to lose Victor again.

***

“Victor, wait!” Yuri shouted as he ran toward Victor and Makkachin in the airport terminal.

Victor turned to face Yuri, his expression betraying his confusion. “Why are you here?” he asked. “You should be home with your family. Isn’t that what you wanted this whole time? To find your true home?” There was no malice or even sarcasm in his voice, only resignation.

“To be perfectly honest,” Yuri admitted, “without you beside me, Hasetsu doesn’t feel quite like home. It’s just a place where I live.”

“Oh, Yuri,” Victor muttered, shaking his head. “How can you say something like this to me after knowing the truth about who we both are? We’re from completely different worlds.”

“We have been brought together, more than once I might add, into the same world,” Yuri reminded him. “First, as potential friends. Now, perhaps something more.” Yuri leaned in close to Victor and place his hand on Victor’s shoulder.

“I thought you wanted to end whatever this was between us?”

“It seems I’ve had a change of heart. This,” Yuri said as he kissed Victor’s forehead, “is for saving my life when I was young. This,” Yuri continued as he kissed Victor’s nose, “is for reuniting me with my family. And this is for me.” Yuri kissed Victor’s lips with the tenderness and caution with which he did everything else in his life. It was not beautiful and graceful or the stuff of fairytales - there was no romantic dip and no fireworks in the background - but it was their kiss and that made it perfect to Victor. “Stay with me,” Yuri whispered against Victor’s lips.

“I’ll stay for as long as you’ll have me,” Victor answered. This time, though, they knew it would be without pretense and without an expiration date, for truly there is no tale more compelling than one that never ends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this took so long to finish, y'all. i just got an adult human job and my life has been Busy as Fuck.

**Author's Note:**

> I don't own Yuri!!! on Ice OR Anastasia just let me do my thing


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